Bartender beating: More video footage shown in Police Board hearing

Commission to decide whether Anthony Abbate gets to keep his job

November 18, 2009|By Annie Sweeney, Tribune Reporter

Official proceedings to remove Anthony Abbate from the Chicago Police Department began Tuesday with the airing of about 30 minutes of video showing the disgraced officer showboating and harassing patrons of a Northwest Side bar before he turns on the bartender, beating and kicking her.

The infamous recording -- played around the world -- largely has been seen in snippets of less than a minute and without sound.

On Monday, city attorneys aired lengthy portions of the recording to highlight how events unfolded at Jesse's Short Stop Inn in the afternoon and evening of Feb. 19, 2007. During two visits to the bar, Abbate consumed large quantities of alcohol and persistently harassed and physically abused patrons and the bartender, Karolina Obrycka, according to the attorneys and the charges filed against him by Police Superintendent Jody Weis.

Abbate, already convicted in criminal court for the felony aggravated battery of Obrycka, faces dismissal from the department before the Chicago Police Board. The board conducts hearings and determines punishment. Weis is seeking his dismissal.

Abbate invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at least 75 times during questioning by city attorney Anna L. D'Ascenzo, who repeatedly asked Abbate to identify himself on the recording.

"You pounce on Karolina Obrycka," said D'Ascenzo, referring to the video. "You throw her to the ground. ... You grab fistfuls of hair."

Michael Malatesta, Abbate's attorney, said Abbate cannot comment about the beating because of a pending civil lawsuit by Obrycka. But Malatesta called the beating an "isolated, uncharacteristic incident."

He also called the hearing a formality, considering that Abbate cannot serve as a police officer with a felony conviction. "There is no getting around it," he said.

A spokeswoman for the city's Law Department said the charges against Abbate were filed before the criminal conviction and that only the Police Board can make the decision to fire Abbate.

The scenes caught on the recording alternate from a typical gathering at a local tavern with men calling out for the next round as the Empire Today commercial airs in the background and Abbate sings "Desperado" to the jukebox. An agitated Abbate punches one friend and tosses another to the ground in apparent anger over a remark made about his dog.

Later that evening, he attacked Obrycka, who tried to thwart Abbate from coming behind the bar. Earlier in the recording, Abbate sang "Sweet Caroline" to Obrycka and the two appear to have civil exchanges, according to D'Ascenzo and the video. But by the time Abbate charges around the bar, a determined Obrycka yelled repeatedly for Abbate to get out from behind the bar.

Obrycka took the stand and watched the video that shows her being punched, beaten, pushed and yanked by the hair by the 13-year officer. "I heard him say, 'Nobody will tell me what to do,'" Obrycka said. "I believe the only thing I said ... I said, 'Stop.'"

The hearing was completed Monday, and the board is expected to make its decision within weeks.

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asweeney@tribune.com

Bar beating recorded

Video footage showing the attack on a bartender can be seen at chicagotribune.com/barbeating